Laundry towel rolling means

ABSTRACT

Means for rolling a continuous or long towel, after being laundered, including a roller or core on which the towel is rolled, and driving or pulling means engaging the towel on the roller and working it into a roll, including a laterally shiftable unit having side plates engaging the sides of the towel and the ends of the roll, the unit shifting so as to accommodate the inherent weaving or lateral shifting movements of the towel and thereby to form an even-end roll.

United States Patent Grantham 154] LAUNDRY TOWEL ROLLING MEANS [72] Inventor: 1830 White Menlo Park, Calif.

Paulette Grantham, Oak Drive, 94025 [22] Filed: Oct. 19, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 81,671

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 510,596, Nov.

30, 1965, abandoned.

[52] U.S. Cl ..242/65, 68/13 R, 242/719 [51] Int. Cl ..B65h 17/20, B65h 75/24 [58] Field of Search ..68/9, 13 R, 5 D, 5 E, 44, 20,

[56] References Cited 1 UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,808,701 6/ 1931 Wigglesworth ..68/5 D 1,764,089 6/ 1930 Sibson et a1 ..68/5 D 2,683,917 7/1954 Furst ..242/65 X [4 1 Oct. 3, 1972 3,439,365 4/1969 Bahnsen ..68/44 X 1,522,152 l/ 1925 Steiner ..242/62 2,611,553 9/1952 Dyken ..242/57.1 X 641,307 l/ 1900 Letourhean ..242/73 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,268,041 6/1961 France; ..242/71.9

Primary Examiner-William 1. Price AttorneyPaul H. Gallagher [5 7 ABSTRACT Means for rolling a continuous or long towel. after being laundered, including a roller or core on which the towel is rolled, and driving or pulling means engaging the towel on the roller and working it into a roll, including a laterally shiftable unit having side plates engaging the sides of the towel and the ends of the roll, the unit shifting so as to accommodate the inherent weaving or lateral shifting movements of the towel and thereby to form an even-end roll.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures LAUNDRY TOWEL ROLLING MEANS This is a continuation-in-part of my prior and copending application, Ser. No. 510,596, filed Nov. 30, 1965, for Continuous Laundering and now abandoned.

CROSS-REFERENCES My co-pending application Ser. No. 90,167 filed Dec. 16, 1970 for Continuous Laundering, which also is a continuation-in-part of the above mentioned parent application.

My co-pending application Ser. No. 81,70l filed Oct. 19, 1970 for Continuous Laundering, which also is a continuation-in-part of the above mentioned parent application.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The invention resides in the field of laundering continuous, or long, towels. Continuous towels in the industrial field refers generally to long towels in a roll. A

roll is placed in an enclosed cabinet and a portion of I the towel extends to the exterior for use, the user pulling or advancing the towel along, to present new increments or portions for use. As the towel is thus advanced, the used portion of the towel is again rolled into another roll. When the towel has been used up, the roll of the used towel is of course laundered, and in such laundering operation it is customary that the towel be unrolled from that roll and fed continuously through a laundering operation. When the towel is thus laundered, and dried, it is end-rolled intoanother roll for again presenting to a customer.

In the handling of such continuous towels in the laundering operations, and in rolling them into a new roll, there is an inherent tendency for the towel to weave or shift laterally in the rolling-up action, which without attention would produce an uneven roll.

A broad object of the present invention is to provide a novel means for use in rolling towels after the laundering operation whereby the weaving or shifting movements referred to are accommodated, and the towel is fed into the new roll being formed in such a manner as to lead or feed the towel in an effectively non-weaving action.

Another and more specific object is to provide means for accomplishing the objective just referred to, in such a way that the roll of the clean towel as it is being formed, is shifted correspondingly to the weaving movements of the towel, or the towel itself is confined at least partially against its inherent shifting movements, whereby to form a roll having even ends.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of the exterior of a laundering apparatus, of a kind to which the device of the present invention is particularly applicable;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the ap paratus constituting the present invention, and shown only indicatively at the lower left end of FIG. 1, and indicated at 2 in that figure; and

FIG. 3 is a view from the left ofFlG. 2.

In the present instance, the reference numerals utilized for designating the various elements are identical with, or nearly so, the reference numerals utilized for the corresponding elements in the parent application and the companion continuation-impart applications referred to above.

In this instance FIG. I shows, in side elevation, apparatus similar to that in FIG. 20 of the parent application, and FIG. 1 of the companion continuation-in-part application, identified above Ser. No. 8l,70l, but in the present instance the body or container of the apparatus is shown in elevation, and the figure is devoid of as many details as is found practicable. Attention is directed to the above entitled applications for further details of structure of the apparatus.

FIG. 1 shows a laundering unit which includes two main components, namely, an upper component I56 and a lower component 157. In the upper comv ponent both the washingand rinsing steps take place while in the lower component the drying step takes place. In the upper component 156, are upper and lower endless conveyors 158, 160, the upper conveyor having a lower run 158a and the lower conveyor having an upper run 160a adjacent to each other and running through the ends of the housing of the unit. These conveyors are trained on suitable guide rollers and driven by suitable means (not shown). The soiled towel to be laundered is shown in the form of a roll 38 from which it streams into the bight 166 between the runs of the conveyor at the leading end of the component and drawn by the conveyor therethrough where it emerges through the bight 168 at the delivery end thereof. The conveyors may assume any of various forms as desired.

In the lower component 157 are a pair of endless conveyors 176, 178, having respectively upper and lower runs 176a, 178a adjacent each other and adapted for conveying the towel therethrough, and they extend through thetends of the housing of the unit, where at their leading end, they have upturned portions 176b, l78b forming an upwardly diverging pocket ,or bight 182 disposed directly below the outlet of the upper conveyors and adapted for receiving the towel 30 therefrom.

As brought out in the above mentioned parent application, and companion application, the towel as it issues from the upper conveyors is wet and sufficiently heavy to lead it directly downwardly into the bight 182 of the lower conveyors, without the necessity for a feeding action on the towel by a mechanical means at that position.

The conveyors 176, 178 at their opposite end, extending through the exterior of the housing unit, form an outlet bight 184 from which the towel issues after the drying operation. The towel is then rolled into a roll 42 by a driving wheel 44. A trough 186 may be pro vided just below the bight 184 to catch the leading end of the towel and prevent its dropping onto the floor until it is started into the roll.

Other forms of conveyors and. washing and drying apparatus may be utilized in connection with the rolling means of the invention, the consideration being that the towel upon being washed and dried is rolled on the apparatus of the present invention.

Attention is next directed to FIGS. 2 and 3 showing means for guiding the towel in its rolling-up action so as to produce an accurate and even roll, despite the tendency of the towel to weave from side to side as it emerges from the apparatus, the towel having that inherent tendency. This weaving action is substantial.

However the means of the present invention for overcoming that tendency to-uneveness is of extremely simple form. The apparatus includes a core or roller 206 rotatably supported on a shaft 208 mounted on suitable frame elements 210. The core is disposed at the outlet end of the apparatus, posterior to the bight 184, in position for receiving the end of the towel and forming the roll 42. The leading end of the towel is started onto the roller or core and after it is so started, the drive wheel 44 engages the towel and upon rotation thereof the towel is wound up on the core.

A suitable pulley 212 may be provided on the wheel for receiving a belt for the driving action. The wheel 44 may be mounted on a stub shaft 214, in turn mounted on an arm 216 pivotally and slidably mounted on a shaft or frame element 218 of the frame. Suitable means such as a tension spring 220 is provided for biasing the arm 216 into advanced position in which the driving wheel 44 engages the towel.

A pair of side plates 222 are also pivotally and slidably mounted on the frame element 218 and are biased up into active position by a tension spring 224, these side plates 222 confining the roller or core 206 therebetween. The side plates, the core, and the driving wheel 44, together as a unit identified as 226, are slidable laterally along the shaft 208 and the shaft 218. As the towel emerges from the apparatus and is rolled onto the core 206, and as the towel tends to weave from side to side, the unit or assembly 226 slides along the shafts 208, 218 with the weaving movements of the towel, and thereby accommodates the towel and confines it to the actual confines of the core 206, whereby it is formed into a roll with even and accurate end surfaces. The side plates 222 may be swung out of active position (to the dotted line position of FIG. 2) to enable the finished roll to be removed from the shaft 208. The side plates are provided with notches 227 rec'eiving the shaft 208, permitting the side plates to engage the ends of the core and the ends of the roll to form the accurate roll as stated. The pivotal arrangement of the arm 216 enables the driving wheel 44 to be always in engagement with the towel, under the action of the tension spring 220 and to enable the wheel to recede as the roll enlarges.

lclaim:

1. Rolling means for rolling a continuous towel, of substantial width as distinguished from filament, in conjunction with laundry apparatus for laundering the towel and conveying it out of a delivery end of the apparatus,

- said rolling means comprising,

a roller of a length substantially the width of the towel, at the delivery end of the laundry apparatus, means mounting the roller for limited shifting movement along its own axis transversely of the towel,

a pair of side plates spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the length of the roller,

means mounting the side plates for swinging movement into and out of active position in which they engage the ends of the roller, and also mounting them for shifting movement with the roller along the axis of the latter, when the side plates are in their said active position, and

means for rotating the roller for rolling the towel thereon. 2. Rolling means according to claim 1 wherein the side plates are swingable together about an axis parallel with the axis of the roller, and are swingable in direction of the longitudinal direction of the towel, and the plates when so swung engage and disengage the roller, and/or roll on the roller, in the planes of the ends of the roller.

3. Rolling means according to claim 2 wherein the roller is mounted on a shaft having ends extending axially beyond the ends of the roller, and the roller is mounted by means of the extended ends of that shaft, and

the side plates have notches therein facing in the direction of the shaft of the roller, and they receive the ends of the shaft when the side plates are moved into active position, and the side plates have portions on opposite sides of the notches engaging a substantial portion of the ends of the roller, and the towel thereon in the form of a roll.

4. Rolling means according to claim 3 wherein the portions of the side plates on opposite sides of the notches act on the linear, un-rolled portion of the towel as it approaches the roller and is formed into the roll on the roller. v

5. Rolling means according to claim 3 and including resilient means yieldably holding the side plates in their 0 active position in relation to the roller and towel.

6. Rollingmeans according to claim 2 in which the means for rotating the roller includes a wheel substantially narrower than the length of the roll and engageable with the roller, and the towel when in a roll on the roller between the side plates, whereby drive is transmitted from the wheel to the roller and/or roll at a linear speed according to the. speed of the wheel regardless of the size of the roll on the roller.

7. Rolling means according to claim 6 wherein the wheel for driving the roller is mounted for swinging movement into and out of engagement with the roller/roll, and

the rolling means includes resilient means for biasing the wheel into engagement with the roller/roll, and this resilient means is independent of the resilient means biasing the side plates into active position, the construction enabling yielding retraction of the wheel from the towel roll as the latter increases in size, and both the wheel and the side plates are retractable in further direction for enabling removal of the towel roll from the roller axially of the roller. 

1. Rolling means for rolling a continuous towel, of substantial width as distinguished from filament, in conjunction with laundry apparatus for laundering the towel and conveying it out of a delivery end of the apparatus, said rolling means comprising, a roller of a length substantially the width of the towel, at the delivery end of the laundry apparatus, means mounting the roller for limited shifting movement along its own axis transversely of the towel, a pair of side plates spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the length of the roller, means mounting the side plates for swinging movement into and out of active position in which they engage the ends of the roller, and also mounting them for shifting movement with the roller along the axis of the latter, when the side plates are in their said active position, and means for rotating the roller for rolling the towel thereon.
 2. Rolling means according to claim 1 wherein the side plates are swingable together about an axis parallel with the axis of the roller, and are swingable in direction of the longitudinal direction of the towel, and the plates when so swung engage and disengage the roller, and/or roll on the roller, in the planes of the ends of the roller.
 3. Rolling means according to claim 2 wherein the roller is mounted on a shaft having ends extending axially beyond the ends of the roller, and the roller is mounted by means of the extended ends of that shaft, and the side plates have notches therein facing in the direction of the shaft of the roller, and they receive the ends of the shaft when the side plates are moved into active position, and the side plates have portions on opposite sides of the notches engaging a substantial portion of the ends of the roller, and the towel thereon in the form of a roll.
 4. Rolling means according to claim 3 wherein the portions of the side plates on opposite sides of the notches act on the linear, un-rolled portion of the towel as it approaches the roller and is formed into the roll on the roller.
 5. Rolling means according to claim 3 and including resilient means yieldably holding the side plates in their active position in relation to the roller and towel.
 6. Rolling means according to claim 2 in which the means for rotating the roller includes a wheel substantially narrower than the length of the roll and engageable with the roller, and the towel when in a roll on the roller between the side plates, whereby drive is transmitted from the wheel to the roller and/or roll at a linear speed according to the speed of the wheel regardless of the size of the roll on the roller.
 7. Rolling means according to claim 6 wherein the wheel for driving the roller is mounted for swinging movement into and out of engagement with the roller/roll, and the rolling means includes resilient means for biasing the wheel into engagement with the roller/roll, and this resilient means is independent of the resilient means biasing the side plates into active position, the construction enabling yielding retraction of the wheel from the towel roll as the latter increases in size, and both the wheel and the side plates are retractable in further direction for enabling removal of the towel roll from the roller axially of the roller. 